South Slope Year In Review: Business Openings & Closings

We live in such a vibrant neighborhood that it would be wrong to expect that everything would stay the same forever. Still, after stopping in regularly and seeing those familiar faces, it’s hard to watch beloved businesses go. The bright side, of course, is that we’ve gotten some pretty great new ones coming in.

So, let’s take a look back on how businesses fared in 2014 in South Slope:

Eat it up: Pitas & Sticks brings Greek bites to 321 9th Street; Sips and Bites is serving up Italian dishes at 364 Prospect Avenue; we’ll give you one guess what JuiceLand pours at 337 9th Street; 2 Brother’s is trying to make Spanish and American food work at 568 4th Avenue, after two other restaurants closed there this year; Breadfruit Tree Cafe is hoping to lure in commuters at 453 4th Avenue; Espresso 77 is bringing a jolt of caffeine to 410 7th Avenue; it’s all about coal-oven pizza and family at Table 87 at 473 3rd Avenue; Bagel Factory expanded up the street to add a spot at 461 5th Avenue; Buttermilk Bakeshop is satisfying our sweet tooth at 339 7th Avenue;

Bodega beat: A 5th Avenue deli got new (but familiar) owners and a new look at 513 5th Avenue; Lucky 7 Gourmet Deli is trying it’s you-know-what at 244 4th Avenue;

Sparks on Sixth: Loving OS Cafe, the cozy new coffee shop at 535 6th Avenue from the owners of 5th Avenue’s 15th Street Cafe, which opened and closed within about seven months; while Sunset Park Deli has your last-minute needs covered at 461 6th Avenue; though Muse Cafe opened at 497 6th Avenue in the former Red Horse space in April, it’s on the market, so keep an eye on that spot in the new year.

Rock on! Permanent Records opened an outpost at 159 20th Street, in the BrooklynWorks at 159 space.

Services rendered: A health insurance office took over a former laundromat at 471 5th Avenue; Advocate CPA Group brought tax planning to 159 20th Street; Accurate Pharmacy can fill your prescriptions at 639 5th Avenue; and Bright Kids NYC is helping kids with learning at 438 6th Avenue, while Brooklyn Game Lab (353 7th Avenue) and The Tiny Scientist (1624 8th Avenue) are also helping make learning fun.

Windsor watch: After more than two years, Windsor Terrace finally got its Walgreens (589 Prospect Avenue), but the adjacent Key Food is still laying in wait; bike shop/cafe Juice Pedaler closed at 154 Prospect Park Southwest, but a new cafe (without the bikes) is headed there soon; Alison Animal Hospital is looking our for your pets at224 Prospect Park West; Brooklyn Proper‘s got seasonal eats and lovely cocktails at 471 16th Street, while Krupa Grocery (231 Prospect Park West) has coffee and farm-to-table bites, Brunswick‘s (240 Prospect Park West) also helping on caffeine, and Dunkin Donuts (250 Prospect Park West) has, well, you know.

Sharply dressed and shaped up: A new men’s clothing store for 480 5th Avenue (in the former Dreamy’s space); children’s clothing store Beva moved up the street to 340 7th Avenue, and a dry cleaner took over its former spot at 421 7th Avenue on the corner of 14th Street; while the new fitness studio Align Brooklyn opened at 579 5th Avenue.

Name change: The Met at 595 5th Avenue is now Bravo Foodmarket.

The big ones: Lucky 13 Saloon closed its rocking bar at 273 13th Street after 11 years, moving to Gowanus and leaving an storefront that remains vacant; the strange saga of the Key Food at 493 5th Avenue continues (it’s still supposed to reopen…); 7th Avenue Art Supplies (376 7th Avenue) closed after 22 years in business; Has Beans served its last cup of joe at 620 5th Avenue after 11 years; Lindos, a staple for years at 606 5th Avenue, closed over the summer; after nine years at 411 7th Avenue, gift shop Sweet Charity closed to focus on its online shop; the Gowanus Draft Barn location, which opened at 530 3rd Avenue in 2008, closed this spring; Parco, the decade-old cafe at 427 7th Avenue, closed after beloved owner Alex Pozzan passed away; and nearby, De Luxe closed at 410 7th Avenue after connecting to the neighborhood in just three years.

Short-lived restaurants: We lost Amira’s, the Mediterranean restaurant that replaced old-timer Anthony’s last year at 426A 7th Avenue; Uncle Arthur’s Cafe, which came and went from 237 9th Street in just seven months; small plates and sparkling wine spot Sekt at 651 5th Avenue after less than a year there; Boqueroncito was barely around at 568 4th Avenue after Country Boys closed; while Feluccio (364 Prospect Avenue) and Slope Cafe (453 4th Avenue) were each only open for about two years.

Misfortune on Fourth: Good Fortune Chinese (524 4th Avenue) is gated for good, while Brooklyn Finest Market (550 4th Avenue) closed to make way for apartment buildings.

Holding patterns on Fifth: Some vacancies remain, including at 511 5th Avenue (formerly Malik Sportswear); 479 5th Avenue (where the Avon used to be); 631 5th Avenue (Suki Sushi); 673 5th Avenue (Sabor a Mexico); 458 5th Avenue (if anything, it’s just been pop-ups lately); and 555 5th Avenue (Tina’s Nail Salon).

Double vision: Finally, Indian Spice is still “coming soon” to the space at 351 7th Avenue — Bombay Grill closed in the same spot in September.

We try to be as thorough as possible in covering the businesses coming and going in the neighborhood, but sometimes we miss things — anything you notice close down or pop up this year that we didn’t list above, let us know in the comments below! And keep us in the loop in 2015. If you spot a new place or know of an old favorite that’s saying goodbye, contact us at editor@bklyner.com so we can keep the community informed.